Volvo "Will No Longer Develop a New Generation of Diesel Engines"

"Our future is electric and we will no longer develop a new generation of diesel engines", Volvo chief executive Hakan Samuelsson said.

Slated for a global launch later this year in the spring, the new Volvo S60 sedan will be the first vehicle from the company to be offered without a diesel powertrain.

Volvo's transition away from the internal combustion engine may be starting now, but it won't happen quickly.

The manufacturer previously suggested that its current generation of diesel engines could be its last, and announced previous year that all its new cars launched from 2019 would have an element of electric drive, either with a hybrid or fully electric powertrain.

Volvo's first new model without a diesel option will be the redesigned S60 small sedan, which is set for a reveal this spring.

The S60 will be the last Volvo to launch with conventional, non-hybridised petrol engines as the mild-hybrid derivatives are only expected to come on stream in 2019.

Meanwhile, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will cease to offer diesel versions for its Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Jeep and Maserati brands by 2022, as chief executive Sergio Marchionne sees hybrid vehicles as the way to meet goals on Carbon dioxide reduction - with diesel sales unlikely to recover.

It follows the automaker's announcement last July that every vehicle it launches from 2019 will feature some form of electrification, whether it be mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid or pure electric power.

"Diesel will be much more complicated for more consumers, and much more expensive, too" Samuelsson said to the FT.

Production of the S60 will start later this year at Volvo's new plant near Charleston, South Carolina.

He said lower fuel consumption was the "only advantage of diesel", but that "you can get that back with a mild-hybrid engine".

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